Fading Dusk
by celestialdreams57
Summary: It is no surprise to anyone when the Gorillaz go on a hiatus amidst the struggle of creating a new album. However, it is what happens in that break, or more specifically who, that changes the course of their lives forever. Rated T for language and violent/suggestive themes. Trigger warning for addicts.
1. Chapter 1

In all truth, she wasn't sure why she had come.

Perhaps it was the crowds of adoring fans with pens and photos ready. Perhaps it was the hum in her chest from the infectious beats. Or maybe the numbing burn from her latest sip of whiskey that tore a trail down her throat.

Whatever the reason, it was enough to allow herself the company of her bandmate. Her least favorite one to boot. The two had had a strained relationship for quite some time ever since his attempt on her life left her with four years of Hell, both literally and figuratively. It was hard to experience it to begin with, but upon returning and realizing she had been replaced, she never walked the same way again.

Presently, her companion was mucking about in the opposite corner of the pub, his snake-like tongue wriggling out like a crazed dog as he made a royal fool of himself.

 _Dumbass Murdoc._

Earlier that day had put a real strain on all of them. Amidst the success of their latest album and the return of their mastermind bassist, the creativity well had run dry. It seemed as if mentally, she was constantly glancing at the space beneath her fingernails to make sure she didn't have any rubbish left from scraping the bottom of the barrel. None of them seemed to be able to pull a decent lyric out if their lives depended on it.

It wasn't as if they hadn't been through hard times before. Hell, the group seemed to attract it like flies to honey. Between death scares, bodily harm, and constant curses of the supernatural, one would think adversity was their norm. And yet, with the particularly violent altercation of shards of glass sprinkling everywhere between the table and the floor, all four band members decided to go their separate ways for the remainder of the daylight hours. However, she would have been a fool to believe that the setting of the sun would in any way hinder her radical bassist's behavior. Truthfully, it seemed to only ignite it even further.

2D and Russel had elected to stay behind at their current dive. A shabby three bedroom apartment in the ass-crack of London's project district. It was truly the only place that had been willing to house the band within 100 miles. The fame did not seem to treat them kindly in that aspect, especially with Murdoc's incessant desire to waste their earned money on booze and drugs. Not that any of the others were any less guilty. He just seemed to be the most brash about it. The most unphased.

 _Idiot._ She muttered internally, giving a wince as the green skinned man tumbled from his spot atop the bar and smacking rather unceremoniously onto the cement floor. She could have sworn to hear a crack somewhere within his aged body, but she chose to not pursue the idea any further as two girls started hanging themselves off of him. She scowled.

"Making a right fool o' himself, that one is."

Noodle chuckled at the man seated next to her, downing another shot before clearing her throat.

"Something tells me he doesn't care." She retaliated, and the young man nodded.

"Perhaps not. But at least some of us have some sense."

Again, the young woman chuckled. She didn't know much about him, but he had made a point to sit next to her and keep her company the majority of the evening. She hadn't even bothered asking him for his name, for she knew how trivial they could be at times. He could call himself anything to her and she would never know the difference. Waste of time.

But for the sake of the evening and the sake of her current state, she elected to have a good time no matter what. Forget about the reality of her life and let go for a while. Even if it was with a complete stranger.

She had always put entirely too much faith in people she didn't know. It was one of her less-than-amiable traits. Hell, she had put everything she had into the three strangers she had met first, and they became her family. She wasn't entirely optimistic, as one should never be, but in this regard she had more than enough hope to go around.

"Does he always act like this?"

The man's question knocked her out of her daze, and Noodle clicked her tongue. She shifted in her chair to adjust herself.

"'Fraid so. He's a nitwit." This earned her a full-gut laugh.

"Amazing. From the music videos, he looks to have a pretty good head on his shoulders."

"Looks can be deceiving." She retorted effortlessly. As she took another swig of her drink of choice, the air instantly felt cooler around her. She felt a pair of eyes boring into her.

"Indeed they can be." The moment she turned to look at him, the stranger's expression instantly fell to one of humor and gentle intent. It left a strange weight in her stomach.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Crickets chirped outside the paint-chipped back door, the low hum of the radio making a rather unsynchronized duet with it. Smoke clouded the air as a man of tall, skinny stature sat hunched over the kitchen table trying to make sense of the scribbles he had conjured up in the past three hours. The rhythmic thump of footsteps sounded behind him, and he spoke without looking up.

"I jus' can't put m' finger on it, Russ. The songs used t' come so easy." 2D mumbled frustratingly. The hulking man shook his head.

"No use milling about it now, 'D. It's way too late."

The blue haired singer lifted his eyes to the night outside their window, soaking in the glittering flickers of fireflies before his mind wandered to their missing bandmates. More specifically, the youngest one.

"Y'think she's alright ou' there wif 'im?" His next question caused the drummer to look at him in sympathy. He knew all too well that out of all of them, 2D was the one to worry about Noodle the most. Something he had always found admirable about the otherwise careless singer. Even so, his lips pursed for a moment.

"Noods ain't no kid anymore, 'D. She can handle her own. Even if she is with Muds." He didn't like disagreeing with his friend, but after the events of Plastic Beach and how long their baby bandmate had gone surviving on her own, he was less inclined to worry about her these days.

2D gave a short grunt in reply, taking another drag of his cigarette.

In time, he supposed that they would find out which of them were correct.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The music bumped onwards into the night. Sweat and spilled spirits littered the floor and everyone's skin. Blaring beams of green and pink strobed across every nook and cranny. If it wasn't for the brick walls that firmly held the commotion in place, one would think the entire city would hear its noise.

She blinked rapidly.

Her eyes began scanning the crowds of people for her companion. It was well past midnight now, and she was getting tired. It hit her rapidly, filling her brain with visions of clouds and swirls of colors. The neon lights above melted into the walls, the lattice pattern turning watery…..

 _What is happening?_

She could hear her heart in her ears, and her skin prickled as a large hand gripped her arm. She jerked her back in preparation to fight them off, but found that the action only threw her off balance. She effectively collapsed into the arms of her assailant.

Her head pounded, her ears becoming fuzzy to the music.

A scarred pair of green eyes glared back at her.

 _What is_ _ **happening?**_

Her body screamed to move, to run away, to kick at the vice-like hold this stranger had on her small body. It seemed as if paralysis had taken over everything from the neck down, and she struggled to remain focused on the situation at hand. Her mouth was filled with cotton as she drew in a breath to speak.

"Where are you-?" She squeaked, immediately reeling at the sound of her own voice. There was a round of chuckles. She felt her boots scrape against the floor as the arms dragged her towards the shadiest section of the tavern, void of any and all light.

Her fingertips started to tingle.

"Don't worry, Miss Noodle. The boys and I are going to take very good care of you."

The statement seemed almost ghostly to her psyche, all focus turning to staying awake. The darkness enveloped her almost completely, the traces of civilization becoming questionable. Her eyelids pulled at her relentlessly, and she felt a hand begin to slide up into her inner thigh….

" _ **HEY!"**_

White light.

Gusts of wind streaking past her face.

Shouts of anger and shock.

A gentle, more dainty hand taking ahold of her arm before roughly yanking her back into the hallway.

"Sod off, you pieces of rubbish!" The ghosts in her head echoed, her vision trying desperately to center in on who was screaming at the group of men. Hurried footsteps echoed off to her right, and Noodle felt the soft and harrowing support of a cushioned armchair push against her back and legs, her head drooping to the side as she took in short, labored breaths.

Warmth pressed against her cheek, and for a split second, she had a moment of clarity.

 _I've been drugged._

"Are you alright, lass? Those vultures were about two minutes away from giving you their worst." A pale face appeared in front of her, though the person's features seemed about as clear as mud. In desperation, she groaned loudly, reaching out to the ghost in hopes of grasping onto reality. Instead, the figure came to her and hugged her tightly. It only further lulled her into a state of wooziness.

"Sh,sh,sh. It's alright. Are you here with anyone?" The voice asked. With a weary turn of her head, Noodle lifted a shaking finger in the direction of the main gaggle across the way, and she felt the eyes of her rescuer lift momentarily to hone in on the selected person. She felt their neck muscles jerk back to her in shock.

"That asshole is your _friend?_ " A lazy nod was the only thing she could offer as a response to the figure. A judgmental push of air through their lips.

"Love, you need new friends."

The battle for consciousness was becoming too much, and Noodle felt the person tug at their arm once more, slinging it across their shoulders and half-carrying her out into the stuffy summer night. The humid air hit her face with surprising abruptness, and before she knew it, she was smelling lilacs. Vinyl brushed against her shorts and stuck to her thighs as the short gust of air smacked her arm at the slam of a car door.

The entire vehicle creaked in protest as her rescuer plopped down into the driver's seat, twisting the key in the ignition just enough to start up her radio.

"Now. How's about we wait out here until your 'friend' is through with meddling, eh?"

The stars hung above them like cheap string lights. Nothing seemed to matter to Noodle anymore but sleep. Her body was numb, but with her last waking moment, her eyes managed to form a shape in the seat next to her. Whomever had placed her in their car, they had quite pale skin.

The familiar melody of _Always on My Mind_ suddenly began thrumming through the car.

"Y'like Elvis?" The stranger asked with a smile.

She finally surrendered to the dark. To the sweet comfort of paralysis, her eyelids closing and her breathing falling to a steady pace….

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **Hello to you all!**

 **I'm celestialdreams57, and I want to thank you for reading the first chapter to my very first fanfiction for Gorillaz! I hope I meet some great people in this fandom and I look forward to writing again!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Sorry if it seemed a bit rushed and there were a few typos, I'll try to work on that starting on the next chapter.**

 **Toodles!**

 _ **Celestialdreams57**_


	2. Chapter 2

Lilacs.

Noodle's nostrils flared, inhaling deeply as her eyes shot open to take in her surroundings. White was all she could see, hazy sunlight casting a sort of glow. Slowly, things began to take shape and the bright, glittering eyes of anime stared back at her.

Gasping, she jolted upright, looking around wildly.

Her room.

Slightly messy, but just how she had left it before parading off the night before.

The blood vessels in her skull pounded relentlessly, and it wasn't long before the hint of the lingering floral scent brushed their way into her nose again. Taking a rather cautious glance at her wrinkled top, she pinched the cotton fabric between her fingers and lifted it towards her face to take a sniff.

Very faint, but it was definitely there.

She never used perfume, or even liked the idea of it.

However, her thoughts did not dwell on the fragrance for long as she thought back to the events of the evening before.

A stranger with a bright smile, Murdoc's usual shenanigans, the relentless thump of the club music thrumming through her rib cage….

Then nothing.

How had she made it back home?

It wasn't like her to have spotty memories, even after having a considerable amount of booze. Her upbringing and her origins as a super soldier wouldn't allow it. She had the highest tolerance out of anyone she knew, so the very notion that her brain had betrayed her was far from acceptable.

Her fingertips curled into the soft surface of the mattress, the sheets rustling beneath her grip.

 _Looks can be deceiving._

 _Indeed they can be._

The last words she remembered speaking. How had it escaped her?

In frustration, she stood up and began to search for her outfit for the day. This was one mystery she wasn't about to let slip through her fingers.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The trickle and rumble of the coffee machine was the only sound amidst the entire room, which made it all the more startling when its patient recipient heard giggling from somewhere within their flat. The source of the noise didn't give him much time to contemplate on the direction from which they came, two groupies busting their way into the kitchen door in a pursuit of the rear exit. There was a momentary exchange of eye contact, but 2-D had nothing to say to them. They looked him over for a moment before falling into another fit of giggles as they pushed open the rickety screen door leading out into the night.

" _What a shame!"_

" _I bet he's great in bed."_

It wasn't as if Gorillaz famed singer had never had frivolous nights of his own. Often, there was barely any room in their vehicle between them and all the girls that Murdoc and himself would bring home. Sometimes even Russel managed to coax one home, but that was few and far between. He figured Noodle was so disgusted by all of it that she made it her personal mission to never bring someone home in such a way.

It was fine.

Lately though, it seemed as though his desire for such nightly activity had reached an all-time low. Perhaps it was age, or maybe it was just the fact that this new area didn't seem to turn up any worthy participants in his eyes. Not to mention that he came to the frustrating conclusion that last few times around that his endurance was….lacking. Sometimes not even showing up.

Yup. Definitely age.

His fervent brooding about his failing masculinity was interrupted with the heavy rhythm of footsteps coming into the room, and he turned to meet his third pair of eyes that morning, this pair being a much more deserving recipient of his attention.

"Mornin'." Russel grunted, still trying to bring his bulky frame into the kitchen and across the way to rummage through their cabinets. The blue haired man heard the unmistakable clink of glass followed by the skittery rattle of a whisk. It only meant one thing, and his stomach growled at the thought of the drummer's world-famous pancakes.

"Mornin'." He managed to mutter back, pouring the steaming hot bean liquid into his chipped mug.

"Muds and Noodle make it back OK?" Russel threw the question over his shoulder like a used towel, too busy pulling ingredients from both cabinets and refrigerator to actually look at his best friend. 2-D gave a lazy shrug of his shoulder, sipping his beverage black. Just how he liked it.

"'S far 's I know." He mumbled again, smacking his lips in satisfaction over his supreme cup of joe.

"Good." The short and abrupt reply was a little startling, but he didn't linger on the thought very long.

The sizzle of butter into the skillet only heightened his hunger.

"I'm jus' sayin' the chorus….is a load o' hot rubbish."

Papers lay scattered around the table as if they were in the heat of jury duty. 2-D's disgruntled expression only seemed to further the bassist's scowl, but it was not his oldest bandmate who spoke up.

"Well, if you can think up something better, we're all ears." Russel snapped, scooping his latest batch of breakfast out onto an awaiting plate. Murdoc growled, snatching at the nearest piece of notebook with his gnarly hand.

"'Course I can. I carry the weight o' this band anyways." He grumbled. This made both bandmates look up in startled shock.

"What did you—" Russel's retort was halted as their fourth and final band member made her way into the room. Her choppy bobbed hair was mussed to the extreme and her shirt was fairly crumpled, but otherwise she looked the best out of all of them. She always did.

"Good morning." Her little voice peeped, giving a hug to 2-D, who was the closest to her.

"Morning, Noods." The singer said with a ghost of a smile on his face. It never ceased to amaze him how the little girl they found in a Fedex crate all those years ago had blossomed into the young woman they greeted now.

"Morning, baby girl." Russel said warmly, also giving her a hug as she made her rounds. However, she didn't seem to have much interest in making contact with the third bandmate, and slipped into the seat next to 2-D to beam at the steaming pile of hotcakes in front of her.

Murdoc had cast the pending song lyrics to the side and busied himself with the morning paper, something he had recently taken up as a pastime. For several minutes, there was no conversation. It was as if they were vying for a civil get-together amongst themselves. Something few and far between as of late. However, they knew better than to foolishly believe that it would last.

"Loo' a' this stupid bloke." Murdoc's slurred speech didn't warrant much of a reaction beyond the half-interested glance of 2-D. However, all three jumped in their seat as he smacked the paper down onto the table of surface, one scraggily finger pointing to a picture of young man looked wide-eyed into the camera in front of him. "'as the finest string skills in London. Doesn't know wha' 'e's got goin' fer 'im."

"Muds, you've already roped three of us into your prison. No use pulling in anyone." Russel responded without missing a beat, scooting his chair back to arise and go to the sink.

"Wha' th' ell's THAT supposed t' mean?" The bassist hissed, glancing from his drummer to the other two members. His lip curled in disdain. "I've given ye careers, all of ye. Without me, 2D would be a sodding pile o' brainless mush, Noodle 'd probably be a stree' rat, and you'd be sho' dead like the rest o' ya buds."

In short, Russel was very tired of this self-glorifying of Murdoc's. It seemed as if his mood was just the right amount of sour for things to go south quickly. Before anyone could blink, Russel had Murdoc by the neck like a fresh goose for his taxidermy.

"Listen here, you green bean. You're lucky _any_ of us are staying after everything you've pulled. You should have stayed in that cell and _rot_ to a pile of ash, if you ask me."

Leave it to the hulking drummer to set things straight and voice what everyone was thinking. It sounded repetitive and bland, but it was their lives. Every second of it. In response to this, Murdoc just seemed to shrug.

"So things are a little tense right now, eh? We've been through this before, Russ. Y'know you'd 'ave no place t' go." He looked between them all again, a wry smile having found its way onto his face. "None of ye would." He locked eyes with the fuming drummer once more. "Ye always make your way back to me, whether y'want to or no'."

Russel opened his mouth to spit something back in his direction, but once again he was cut short with a tiny question from 2-D.

"Noods, wha's that on yer arm?" He lifted a finger to guide everyone's gaze in its direction, and sure enough they all observed a bright purple mark on the back of Noodle's upper arm. Three little dots, looking as if somebody had handled her too roughly.

"Oh _now_ you've done it." Russel growled, snatching up the wrinkled collar of the bassist before glaring directly into his eyes. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothin', Russ, I swear it!" This time, Murdoc's voice was slightly shrill and desperate. It was one thing to stir up the large man's anger by his own accord, but involve Noodle in any way, and Murdoc saw his chances of leaving in one piece dwindling by the second.

"You went to that bar last night didn't you? I _told_ you that's no place for women!" Russel scolded like a father to his reckless son, though his insides curled at the idea of someone like Murdoc as a kin. He shook the green man about angrily, preparing to punch him in the gut.

"RUSSEL-SAN!"

Everyone froze, and the large man reeled at the mention of his nickname. Noodle rarely used it anymore upon her discovery of practically impeccable English, but when she did choose to bring it up, she meant business. All eyes were on the young Japanese woman, and her shoulders slouched ever so slightly.

"Leave him alone. He didn't do it." She couldn't believe she was defending Murdoc, but she wasn't in the mood to clean up his blood and teeth off of the floor.

"Someone must've. It's all 'urple n' green." 2-D observed, still giving it a side-tilt of his head from behind her. Noodle quickly placed a tender hand over it, shooting him a look before Russel stepped forward, still holding onto Murdoc by the collar like a ragdoll.

"Just name 'em, Noods." He ensured her. However, as all eyes fell on her again, the young woman found herself only able to bite her lip in frustration.

What the hell was _wrong_ with her? There wasn't a lot she prided herself on, but remembering things was a big one. And now she was coming up dry. Why?

In defeat, her shoulder slumped even more and her eyes fell to the floor to avoid everyone's judgmental stares.

"I…don't remember." She finally mumbled.

"Wha'?" 2-D squawked almost immediately. The grip around her bruise tightened, enough to remind her of the cost of her failed memory.

"That's unusual." Russel conferred, and Noodle shook her head.

"I know." She said with a slight snap. She wasn't liking the direction this conversation was going now.

"You sure y'don't 'ave _any_ idea?" 2-D further pressed, his expression falling to even further confusion as she continuously shook her head.

"You and Muds made it back together last night, didn't you?" Russel decided to examine all facets of the night in question. Upon the attention turning back to him, the green skinned man seemed to just give a nasty smile.

"Don't remember much of anythin'. Just those two groupies, eh? Heh heh." Nobody was laughing. In fact, his useless comment seemed to go right over everyone's head.

"Y'had to 'ave come home wif him. Who else knows exactly where t' take ye?" The blue-haired singer continued to throw out assumptions to see if anything would jog the girl's memory, but it seemed as if they were fishing with no bait. Nothing seemed to trigger her.

"I don't know, guys. Let's just forget about it." She insisted, looking out the window.

Reclusiveness usually wasn't in her nature, but in light of the situation, she felt it was best if she just distanced herself from them so she could think.

Russel and 2-D seemed to pick up on this. After all, raising her had not been a picnic and like any parent would, they eventually came to recognize her visual and verbal cues that she needed some time alone.

The hulking black man finally released his grip on Murdoc entirely, causing the man to stumble to the ground for a moment before slinking back to the table to grab for his fizzling cigarette.

"Only if you say so, baby girl." Russel said, and Noodle made brief eye contact with him in a sort of silent word of thanks, and she exited the room before any of them had much to say past that.

The clatter of shot-glasses rumbled through the dive along with hushed chatter of the generic kind. A warm setting sun started to cast a golden glow over the restaurant, and in the far corner, where the beams lightly brushed the features of the table assembly, she sat alone.

Despite everything that had gone on the night before, the restaurant attached to the bar was quite the nice dive during the day. Posh uptown women with more gold bracelets on their arms than they knew what to do with sat at small bistro tables that were set by the window, a perfect illusion for the passersby on the type of people who occupied these parts. Their diamond earrings glittered in the fading light, slightly saggy jowls trembling at their boastful laughter.

Noodle wiggled the toes in her left boot, giving her dirty, beat up kicks a quick glance in comparison to the silk flats.

Screw all that fancy shit, she just wanted her Rueben.

Amidst the light and dainty orders of shrimp and wine, the restaurant offered more hearty selections for the folks that turned up later in the evenings. Men with bigger stomachs. And her.

Normally they wouldn't start serving it until then, but the waiter knew her by face and knew what she wanted. He had elected to never question her choices, and he had become a favorite of hers to see.

Not that her bandmates needed to know about it.

Once again, she didn't bother learning his name. She only knew him by his soft blue eyes and cinnamon freckles that dashed his cheekbones.

Her finger floated its way to the rim of her pint glass, ghosting in a circle as her eyes fixated on the last clinging bubbles within the amber liquid that occupied the glass. Little by little, they rose to the surface, exploding into nothingness upon contact with the air. Funny, she felt the same.

Then there it was.

Like a whisper in the dark, so faint that it almost didn't register.

Almost.

With a widened gaze, her eyes lifted in recognition. But a voice soon accompanied the floral smell.

"How's the bruise?"

Definitely a feminine voice, if not low and raspy in nature. Noodle immediately turned to her left, spying a shady character leaning against the nearest wall. Their eyes, peeking out from behind a paisley bandana and hood, scanned the restaurant for a moment before daring another glance in her direction.

Things started to connect as she stared at them.

Snippets of yelling, running, hands grabbing at her.

Her woozy head and the weight of her body collapsing onto dark blue vinyl.

 _But you were always on my mind….._

Elvis.

Why Elvis?

Her brain gave a pained twinge, and she gripped her hair tightly. Why couldn't she _remember_? In frustration, she chose to inquire about the one thing she could recall. Her eyes narrowed to practically nothing.

"How did you know where to take me?" She demanded, not in the mood for any more aloof answers. Unfortunately, that is exactly what she got. She had tried her best to sound as cold and reserved as possible. No telling how much of her this person had learned in their time with her drunken self.

The tall figure's posture stiffened a bit, and their eyes widened momentarily in apprehension.

She felt her heart swell in triumph at the sight. Despite their stony exterior, she had managed to get a rise out of them. However short of a second it was.

"I figured you would appreciate waking up in your own bed…versus a stranger's." They explained. It sent a chill down her spine, but not in a creepy way. After all, said individual had been the one to pull her out of what she could only assume was a difficult situation.

Noodle opened her mouth to pry further, but one glance away and back proved to be fatal to her cause, as the person was already making preparations to move spots. Their gloved hand slipped into their right pocket, pawing something that jingled in response before giving a sharp turn of the head in the window's direction.

"Don't worry about repaying me in any way." They declared, and she watched as they took one more glance at her. "You won't have a chance to."

One blink and they were gone. The guitarist looked around wildly. Never had she seen someone fade so quickly, and she found herself scrambling around the place in search of her mysterious companion.

Nothing.

No sign they had even been there.

 _What kind of shit…?_ She thought, taking one more glance around before returning to her seat. The waiter gave her a smile as he placed her plate on the table, the slightly steaming Rueben a welcome sight.

She slid down into the chair in a huff, taking a huge bite to chew in contemplation.

She had perhaps missed her one and only chance to learn the truth about the first night she could not remember.

The beer had ceased its fizzing, and her fingers curled around the cool glass to raise to her lips. Slamming it back down, Noodle's eyes stared into the street outside in determination.

 _No._ She declared. _I'm not going to forget this. Not as easily as they want me to._

She decided right then and there that for once, when she found them, she would learn their name. And learn it well.

Something she was certain this person was not expecting.

And she liked that.

Heyyoooo. I'm back! I hope ya'll are doing well and enjoyed this update! Sorry for the delay, I will try to work on my efficiency as I go!

Thank you for reading! Until next time!

-celestialdreams57


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